As always, I must thank you, my peeps, for your reviews...I appreciate them more than you know, they really do help me write. I got hurt a couple days ago - I bruised a bone in my hand, and then Friday morning I had a little incident with some glass and had to get a couple stitches...It's been a crap week. So between the injuries, work, and planning an elaborate birthday extravaganza for my nephew...I don't know how much writing I'm gonna get done in the next week or so...I've got a good chunk of ch. 29 done though so if you're all nice, I may finish it and post it before the party planning gets in full swing...As always, Read, Enjoy, & Review!

Chapter 28...

Joe walked into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his stomach. He was pretty sure that could be considered a talent but he'd have to ask someone else later and get an unbiased opinion. He looked around for Regina, wondering if she was back from her run yet. She ran for at least 30 minutes every morning, especially at her grandmother's estate because there were so many hills and paths on the grounds.

He spotted her walking around, drinking a bottle of water. She looked amazing, still a little sweaty in her shorts and sports bra, her hair in a ponytail and best of all, she wasn't wearing any makeup. She would probably slap him for thinking it but he'd always believed she looked better without it. She stopped drinking when she spotted him.

"Good morning beautiful," he smiled.

She sat down on a stool at the marble island in the center of the room, resting a chin on her hand. Her brow furrowed...well as much as it could manage, and he knew something was wrong. He walked over and stood beside her, moving a damp blonde curl away from her forehead, "What's wrong?"

"I don't like him Joseph," Regina frowned.

"You don't like who?"

"This..John guy," Regina shook her head.

"Cory's boyfriend?" he laughed a little. "You don't like him?"

"This is serious Joseph," she gave him a look.

"Regina, you don't know him enough to say you don't like him," he laughed. "Besides, he seems like a good guy to me."

"If I don't know him enough to say I don't like him, how do you know him enough to say he's a good guy?" she asked.

He sighed, knowing there was no point in debating with her. She made her judgments very quickly and once they were done, they were done.

"Why don't you like him?" Joe asked.

"He's so...blue collar," she made a face.

"And blue collar is a bad thing?" he asked, not bothering to mention that he was no stranger to manual labor.

"For Cory, it is," Regina said.

"She seems happy to me," Joe shrugged. He'd taken Cory on as a little sister from the day he met her and if she was happy, so was he.

"Of course she does," Regina said. "He's attractive and kind of rugged. That's fine for a temporary thing but..."

"But what?"

"How is she ever going to get out of this phase with people like him around her?" she asked.

Joseph sighed, feeling a headache coming on. Cory obviously loved her life and what she did for a living. She was perfectly comfortable with who she was but if Regina and Adelle had their way, she would be a completely different person. She would be just like them.

"She is not going through a phase," Joseph said.

"Oh come on, how long could she really enjoy living like this?" Regina asked. "Barely spending anytime at home, working with such an..odd group of people. I mean honestly, getting beat up for a living can't keep her interest forever."

"She loves it," Joe shrugged.

"She's 23..it's time to find something else," Regina said. "And being with a guy like that is not going to help her."

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"You kissed John?"

Cory winced at the words, rubbing her forehead. She was pacing back and forth in her room at her grandmother's house, debating whether or not to go downstairs. She needed to talk to someone about the events of the night before and the only suitable person she could think of was Taylor.

"Please keep in mind that I'm confiding in you because you're the only person who wont laugh at me or harass me about this," she said. "Right?"

"Right," Taylor said calmly. "Though I have to tell you, I do find it interesting."

"Interesting? Why interesting?" Cory asked.

"Well, you two adamantly deny liking each other but you keep ending up in these situations," Taylor said. "I don't mean to sound like everyone else you talk to about this but maybe there really is something to it, you know?"

Cory frowned, not wanting there to be anything to it. She didn't want to like John. She didn't want to be attracted to John.

"I don't know," she sighed, sitting at the foot of her bed. "How am I supposed to know?"

"I don't think it's that difficult," Taylor laughed. "At least it shouldn't be for you. You've given me some pretty great advice. I'm sure you know how to figure out whether or not you like someone."

"It's difficult...trust me," Cory insisted. "When you've disliked someone as much as I used to dislike John and when someone drives you as crazy as he does..it's hard coming to terms with the fact that you may possibly...like him."

"Yeah but..did you ever really dislike John?" Taylor asked. "I mean, yeah you had little tiffs but I've seen you two get along wonderfully."

"Rarely," Cory pointed out.

"Yeah but you've convinced yourself that you just hate him," Taylor said. "And it seems pretty obvious to me that you don't."

Cory chewed on her thumbnail, looking out the window as one of the groundskeepers trimmed a hedge. Taylor did have a point.

"Maybe I don't hate him," Cory said. "Hate is a very harsh word."

"Yes it is," she laughed. "Okay so we've established that you don't hate the man. That's a start."

"And you're right...we do get along really well sometimes," Cory said. "You know, when we're not insulting each other."

Taylor laughed.

"Like the first time we met Jessie's boyfriend," Cory laughed. "We went to McDonald's once we left his house and for whatever reason decided to get Happy Meals. Mine had a Barbie in it and his had a race car and we kept standing Barbie up and trying to see how fast the car needed to go to knock Barbie off the table."

She laughed, remembering how the staff working in McDonald's stared at them as if they'd lost their minds.

"That's cute," Taylor said. "In a slightly psychotic way."

"Thanks," Cory laughed, laying back and looking up at the painted ceiling. Though she hated to admit it, there were times when she really enjoyed John's company.

"So you have fun with him, that's good," Taylor said. "Anything else you like about him?"

"He's always there for me if I need him," she said. "When I had my surgery he was right there...and even now, with this stupid situation with my sister...he's helping me out..And you've met my sister, you know what a task that is."

"She is..interesting," Taylor tried to be diplomatic.

Cory suddenly had the strangest feeling. It was like a mix of clarity and terror...Definitely more terror.

"Oh my God..." she sat up, staring at herself in the mirror on the wall across the room.

I Like John...

"What?" Taylor asked.

"Nothing," she shook her head quickly. Hearing the words in her head was terrifying enough, she certainly wasn't about to say them out loud.

"I don't wanna talk about me and John anymore," she shook her head. "Tell me about your date..."

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"Hold the elevator!"

Glenn looked up, pressing the open door button when he heard the female voice. After a few seconds, a breathless brunette rushed in.

"You didn't have to run," he laughed a little, allowing the doors to close.

"I wasn't sure you'd hold it," she smiled sheepishly. Glenn tried to remember where he'd seen her before. She was pretty, average height, with long brown hair held away from her face with a white silk headband. She wore a loose white sweater and a pair of black pants that fit her perfectly. He noticed that she was leaning pretty heavily on the side of the elevator, "Are you okay?"

"I think I tweaked my ankle," she said. "Ferragamo pumps weren't exactly made for running."

"They don't look like it," he laughed, looking down at her black heels. His gaze drifted back up to her face and tried to place it. He could swear he'd seen her before. Recently.

"You're Glenn Jacobs, right?" she asked.

He smiled, nodding, "That would be me."

"Jacinda Bernahl," she extended her hand. "We're going to be working together soon."

"We are?" Glenn asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Well, not directly," she laughed. "Cory Samms just hired me to be her assistant this morning."

"Were you at the arena yesterday?" Glenn asked.

She nodded, "I think we may have seen each other in passing."

"Thank God, I knew I recognized you from somewhere," he laughed. "It was gonna drive me crazy."

"Should I be offended that it took you so long?" she smirked.

"I recognized you right away, I just didn't know where from," he insisted.

"Well at least I made some sort of impression," she laughed as they reached the first floor.

"You did," he nodded, gesturing for her to go first. They both walked toward the lobby in comfortable silence and he wondered where she was going. He'd almost forgotten that he was on his way somewhere.

"Did Cory invite you to her dinner party tonight?" Glenn asked.

Nice move Glenn, what if she didn't?

Jacinda nodded and he breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up at him, a smile spreading across her face, "You're going, right?"

He nodded.

"Well...she mentioned that the estate is pretty hard to find," Jacinda said. "I know we don't know each other but...I'm afraid to get lost alone..."

"You wanna ride with me?" he smirked.

"I completely understand if you don't want some strange woman in your car," she laughed.

He laughed, "You obviously don't know me very well...I like strange women."

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A few hours later...

"Damn," John looked up at Cory's grandmother's sprawling estate. It was, quite possibly, the biggest house he'd ever seen.

"Wow," Hunter agreed.

Jessica laughed, walking up behind them, "Come on boys, close your mouths before you let the flies in."

John was glad they all rode together because there was no way he would have found the secluded estate without her help. It was private, that was for damn sure.

They walked up a set of steps to a large set of wooden double doors and Jessica pulled one of them open, gesturing for them to go ahead of her. They walked in and John felt like he was looking into one of those Home & Garden magazines his mother loved so much.

"Cory!" Jessica called.

"I think you might need to call her on the phone or something," Hunter said. "This place is like a small town."

"I guess I could just use the intercom," Jessica laughed.

"The intercom?" Hunter laughed.

Jessica pressed a small button on the wall and spoke into the speaker next to it, "Cory?"

"Bout time you got here," came Cory's reply. "I'm in the main kitchen."

"The main kitchen?" John smirked.

"There's a main chef's kitchen and then there's a smaller one further back in the house," Jessica explained. "When we were younger, Cory said they only used to second one for making little snacks and stuff."

The men followed Jessica's lead, walking further into the house. John could tell they were getting close when the smell of home cooked food wafted up to his nose. It wasn't a scent he was able to enjoy very often. They must have had an amazing cook because the food smelled incredible. His mouth was watering and from the look on Hunter's face, he was experiencing the same thing.

"Whoever is cooking in there is the person I will marry," John declared.

"What if it's a guy?" Jessica smirked.

"Then I can only hope it'll be legal soon," John said.

When they got to the kitchen, he was surprised to see Cory rushing around in a pink apron.

"Hey," she smiled when she spotted them before pulling a pan of muffins out of the oven and setting them down on island with quite a few other dishes.

"Is it time to eat yet?" Hunter leaned over the muffins, wafting their scent toward himself.

Cory took off her oven mitt, smacking him on the hand, "Not yet."

"You cook?" John raised a brow at her.

"Surprised?" she smirked.

"Shocked is more like it," he laughed.

"She's a great cook," Hunter said, leaning over the muffins again.

"Stop it," she pushed him away again. "Jessie, control him please."
"Come on hamburglar," Jessica pulled the back of Hunter's shirt. "Back away from the baked goods."

"You didn't make something for those of us nice enough to show up early and help you set up?" Hunter smiled.

"There's some leftover garlic shrimp in the fridge from when Gina and I made crostini this morning, you can have some if you want," she offered.

"Have I told you lately that you're wonderful?" Hunter took Cory's head in his hands, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Get away from me weirdo," she laughed, pushing him away.

"So what's on the menu for tonight?" Jessica asked, laughing as Hunter searched the refrigerator for the aforementioned shrimp.

"Well, for appetizers I made salmon spring rolls, chicken & veggie spring rolls, and toasted ravioli," Cory pointed to three trays on the counter. "Then there'll be Greek Lemon Chicken Soup to start off the meal, candied ginger sweet potatoes, and chicken salad with grapefruit and pistachios. And I couldn't decide chicken or beef for the meat so we're having Balsamic Marinated Steaks with Gorgonzola and Tomato topping and Moroccan Lemon Chicken."

"Any dessert?" Jessica asked.

"Passion fruit and White Chocolate Muffins, Banana Caramel Chocolate Won Tons, and everyone gets a cookies and cream shot."

John's thought he was going to start drooling by the time Cory finished.

"There's a lot of muffins," Hunter said, eating one of his shrimp. "Looks like you could spare one."

Cory rolled her eyes, "Jessica..get him out of here."

"Come on," Jessica laughed, picking up Hunter's bowl of shrimp. "Let's go see if we can get ourselves into some trouble."

"Call us if you need us," Hunter said following Jessica, or his shrimp, out of the kitchen.

Cory checked on something in the oven and John admired the view as she bent over. It was official, she was the perfect woman on paper. She had a great ass and she could cook like nobody's business.

She stood up straight, turning to face him, "You don't wanna go on the tour?"

"I'm still recovering from finding out that you can cook," he smirked, sitting down on a stool.

"Why are you so surprised?" she asked.

"It's not every day you find a girl worth a billion dollars who can cook," he said.

"I am not worth a billion dollars," she laughed. "Dork."

"She's not...it's more like 20 million."

John turned to see Regina walk in with Joseph behind her carrying about 8 bags in each hand.

John smiled, waving at both of them.

"Hey," Joe put the bags down, shaking John's hand and then going over and giving Cory a quick kiss on the cheek.

Regina didn't look nearly as happy to see them. Actually she just didn't look happy to see John. This dinner was going to be interesting to say the least.

"Please tell me these are passion fruit and white chocolate," Joseph stared at the muffin tin.

"You can have one but don't tell anybody," Cory laughed. "And they're hot."

"Has she made one of these for you yet?" Joe asked, grabbing a paper towel and a muffin.

"Not yet," John shook his head.

Joe gave her a surprised look.

Cory rolled her eyes and broke off a piece of the muffin in Joe's hand. She walked over to John and held it out for him. He could tell Regina was watching them and purely for his own amusement, he opened his mouth.

Cory looked confused for a second and then laughed, putting the piece of muffin in his mouth.

She raised a brow at him, waiting for a response.

John wasn't able to give her one yet because he was embroiled in one of the most pleasurable experiences of his entire life.

"Well?" Cory waited.

"If I paid you, would you make me a batch of these everyday?" he asked.

"Depends on how much you're willing to pay," Cory laughed, patting him on the shoulder before walking over to check on something in a pot on the stove.

John got up, walking behind her, "How can I help?"

"Umm..." Cory tapped her chin, looking around for something for him to do.

"Do you have much experience with gourmet cooking John?" Regina asked in a condescending tone.

John smiled at her, "Not at all, but I can make a mean box of mac and cheese."

Joe laughed but Regina seemed less than amused.

"Tough room," John shrugged, turning to Cory who looked very apprehensive all of a sudden. "Got anything for me boss?"

"Could you get the tray of ravioli out of the oven and put them on one of those black platters?" she asked.

John gave her a salute before picking up an oven mitt and walking over to the oven.

"So I see we've decided on very casual attire for the party," Regina said, giving John a scrutinizing gaze.

"Don't start Gina, I'm dressed like this because I've been cooking all day," Cory said, looking for something in the refrigerator.

"I think she was referring to me babe," John said. He gave Regina an apologetic smile, "I don't have much use for a suit and tie so I don't usually pack them when I go on the road."

"Ah," Regina nodded. "Makes sense, when you're not involved in business, business attire isn't really necessary."

John kept the smile on his face and bit back a comment. He knew she wasn't really fond of him but she wasn't bothering to hide it at all. He looked over at Cory whose big blue eyes looked more nervous by the second and reminded himself that he was doing this to help her out.

"I had planned on jeans and a t-shirt too babe," Joe put a hand on Regina's shoulder. "I mean, it's a dinner party with Cory and her friends, not a gala at the white house. Relax."

"I'm perfectly relaxed dear," Regina insisted. "So John...did you bother with college or just jump straight into wrestling?"

Cory started rummaging through a drawer and John smiled at Regina once again, "I have a degree in exercise physiology."

Cory pulled a key out of the drawer and unlocked a cabinet beneath it, pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels.

"That's...interesting," Regina nodded.

Cory poured herself a shot and downed it quickly.

"Cory majored in sociology and minored in finance," Regina smiled proudly.

"I know," John nodded. "She's a very smart girl."

"She can be," Regina shrugged. John felt his jaw tense a little. He was fine with Regina's veiled insults being thrown at him, he'd prepared himself for that but he didn't wanna hear Cory's sister insulting her. He chose to ignore it, knowing that saying something would probably just make things worse.

"You know, I didn't really do anything with fresh fruit," Cory said, looking into the refrigerator. She pulled a couple of bags of fruit out and placed them on the island. "Maybe I should do a fruit salad. What does everyone think?"

"I think there's plenty of food," John said, noting her refusal to look up from what she was doing. Well, he finally knew what made Cory tick...Regina.

"I could make a champagne infused strawberry soup," Cory said, cutting the tops off of some strawberries. "I haven't done that in a while."

"Not everyone likes such light deserts Cory," Regina said. "Maybe we should go pick up some cartons of ice cream or popsicles or something."

"I wonder if we have any champagne," Cory went back to the cabinet she got the whiskey from. Instead of looking, she poured herself another shot.

"Regina, why don't we go get changed, hmm?" Joe suggested, giving John an apologetic look.

"Do you need my help sweetheart?" Regina asked Cory.

Cory turned around with a mouth full of whiskey and shook her head, trying for a smile. She swallowed the shot and then turned around to close the bottle.

"Alright then, we'll be down once I decide what to wear," Regina smiled.

"Take your time," John smiled, earning himself another disapproving look before the couple left the room. Cory was back at the island, cutting more strawberries. She was wearing a tank top and he could see that all of her muscles were tense.

"I didn't see any champagne," she said. "So I think I'm just gonna do some chopped fruit with a honey glaze."

John smirked, "Let me guess...you cook when you get nervous?"

She downed a shot that she'd brought over with her and then looked up at him, "How'd you guess?"

"Well between the drinking and the excessive amount of food you've made for this dinner party, I figured either you cook when you're nervous or you invited the entire city to dinner."

"I would understand if you just left," Cory said. "You've helped me enough already. We could just make up some family emergency or something and you could bail."

"And why would I do that?" he asked, leaning against the counter next to her.

She rested her hands on the counter and looked up at him. It was rare that they had sincere moments but he had a feeling this was going to be one. He wasn't used to seeing her look so nervous. It made him feel strangely..protective.

"You want me to leave you to be ridiculed by your sister?" he asked.

"I have to put up with her, she's family," she said. "You on the other hand have more than fulfilled your duty. I wouldn't let her try and break my balls all night if I were you."

"Well you're not me," he said. "And I will have you know...She wont be able to break them...because my balls are made of steel."

Cory burst into laughter, almost hitting her head on the counter. She looked up at him, still laughing, "Balls of steel?"

He smirked, "Got you to smile, didn't it?"

-----------------------------------

Randy kept his eyes on the road though Portia sitting next to him proved to be very distracting.

He was trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say to her but he'd become inarticulate in the last few days. Every time he tried to tell her that...well that he was starting to like her as more than just a friend and former partner in crime...he slipped up, got nervous, and started talking about everything but how he felt. He really wasn't one to put himself out there. He was much more accustomed to women telling him how they felt first. He was starting to get impatient with Portia though, she wasn't exactly forthcoming.

"You'll never guess what Cory said to me the other day," he smirked, stealing a glance at her.

"What?" Portia asked.

"Well...she seems to be under the impression that I like you," he said. "I mean like you like you."

"What?" Portia looked confused.

She didn't burst into laughter...Always a good sign..

"She was asking me if she should be offended that I got over her so quickly," Randy said. "And then she said that she thinks that I'm interested in you."

Portia smirked, shaking her head.

She still hasn't called the idea absurd...this may just go well...

They were quiet for a few seconds. When they reached a red light Portia giggled a little, "You know, Cory and I are friends now but sometimes I still think that girl must be crazy."

Randy's hands gripped the wheel a little tighter but he kept a relaxed look on his face, "Yeah she is a little off sometimes.."

"There could never be anything between us," Portia shook her head.

"I know," Randy agreed emphatically, forcing a laugh. He wasn't hurt. He was fine. A little surprised but it was no big deal.

"You know...because we're friends I'm gonna tell you something but you cant tell anyone else," Portia said.

Oh great...

"What?"

"Well...like I said, Cory and I are friends now and I regret the way I treated her before," Portia began. "But there's a part of me that still hopes that she and John don't get together."

"That would definitely put you in the minority around here," Randy shook his head.

"I cant help it," Portia said. "Call me dumb but..I'm still kind of holding out hope that maybe John and I will get back together."

Randy sighed, flipping on his turn signal, "Good luck with that."

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